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Climate Innovation Network

SIC's Climate Innovation Network is focusing on local social innovation for climate action, and is run by ECOLISE, a shared platform for learning, action and advocacy for community-led initiatives on climate change and sustainability in Europe. Through this network, SIC recognises:

● the need for urgent action, at all levels and by all stakeholders, to combat climate change and move towards sustainable development;

● the need to create an implementation framework that promotes long-lasting impacts, addressing root causes and not just symptoms of unsustainable lifestyles;

● the huge upsurge in local, community-led initiatives on climate change and sustainability in recent years and the opportunity this presents to greatly accelerate the transformation to a low-carbon society.

In this context, the ECOLISE strategy focuses on facilitating dialogue between EU policy makers and grassroots, community-led social innovators addressing climate change and sustainability on the development of a policy framework that accelerates the transformation to a low carbon society in Europe, ‘living well within the limits of our planet’. On the research side, there is already a compelling evidence base within published academic research for the effectiveness of the community-led approach: studies show that CO2 emissions in Danish ecovillages are 60% lower than the national average, while in Scotland, evaluations of community initiatives highlight their contribution to longterm lifestyle change.

Nonetheless, significant barriers to interaction with mainstream discourse and lifestyles still exist, isolating key social innovations that could promote sustainability in wider society. Overcoming these barriers in order to support a wider replication and up scaling of such local social innovations is the main goal of the network. We will push further the local social innovations’ component of this evidence base, highlighting the transformative potential of social innovation in grassroot approaches to climate action.

Meet your network facilitator...

Nenad is facilitating Climate Innovation Network on behalf of ECOLISE.

Nenad Maljković

ECOLISE Council member. Cultural creative, network entrepreneur and permaculture designer with particular interest in social and economic aspects of permaculture, effective collaboration in groups and in virtual teams for systemic change. Enabler of local, bioregional and global high-trust networks for systemic change - with "towards regenerative cultures through dialogic collaboration" motto. Worldwide REconomy Community of Practice network weaver. In Croatia: co-founder and current coordinator of Transition Hub, Croatian Permaculture Association member, cluster coordinator at Cooperative for Ethical Financing. Rumi translator.